... and the winner is...

Maryland to ask companies for $100 million tech solution to ease I-270 gridlock - The Washington Post

the $100 million winner! 

(drum roll) 

Unbelievable Photos From China's Traffic Jam After 7-Day Holiday

just build 2 or 3 of these babies and wipe out all the development in the corridor. 

Voila! 

$100 million, please.

Rhetoric doesn't equal safety

Security heightened at Dulles as travelers show nerves, determination - WTOP

Rhetoric doesn't equal safety. (1) I just finished reading that one terrorist detonated his bomb outside the terminal in Turkey while two others used the diversion to get inside the terminal to detonate their bombs. (2) I also just read that NJ Transit is ending audio recording on light rail vehicles because "... it was determined that removing the audio recording feature would not in any way compromise (safety) ..." Rhetoric does not equal safety.

Paul S. Sarbanes Silver Spring Transit Center, Rio style

"Pedro Celestino, of the Rio’s Engineering Club, echoed the organizers about the buildings, but is critical of the way they carried out the works, by cutting corners and disrespecting protocols, he told FNL, "established worldwide."

Speeding up the pace of construction, he said, was their goal. "So it will be ready, but the quality of the work may be compromised. In many projects the company responsible for the design was also responsible for the construction and also supervision – when there should be three different companies, each performing one of those roles.”

Celestino concluded, “Yes, there may be incidents, since an important protocol was ignored. But they will be ready."

The emblematic case is the Tim Maia bike path alongside Niemeyer Avenue, which is not an official Olympic project but is being carried out by one of the firms that carried out work for the Games. Two people died when a part of the elevated lane simply collapsed.

"The company that built it was the same one that inspected it,” Celestino pointed out. “How can we trust this process?"

There is also precious little margin for error, since the budget of the city has already been stretched to its limit, and the state of Rio de Janeiro – which is footing the bill for security during the Games – recently declared an emergency in an attempt to get the federal government to issue funds that would allow the state to honor its commitments."

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/sports/2016/06/27/rio-olympic-park-venues-mess-may-be-unsafe-experts-warn.html

like the Paul S. Sarbanes Silver Spring (MD) transit center:
hurry-up + nobody minding the store = debacle

http://silverspringtransitcenter.blogspot.com/

A ramp built for competitors' boats to reach the water hangs after collapsing at the Marina da Gloria sailing venue just days before the start of the Olympic Games. Photo: Reuters

Buckle up. It could be interesting.

METRO

Metro Ridership Is Down, With WMATA Pointing To External Forces For Drop | WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio

overall, less region-wide travel sounds like very good news to me--finding ways to work around commuting, especially during weekday peaks. If METRO can ever get their act together, then it should be even better.

Facebook "friends" and "like"

Look them up in the dictionary.

A "friend" is someone who you know and share an affinity with. 

"Like" is similar-- someone who, or something that, you share an affinity with.

Is someone who you haven't had contact with for 50 years, or never met at all face-to-face, your "friend"? Just because you "like" someone or something, does that mean you want to know everything about them? Not in my book.

Sometimes Facebook "friends" barely rise to the level of "acquaintance". Sometimes Facebook friends are what we used to call "perfect strangers"--"if I bumped into them on the street I wouldn't know them". When you "like" someone or something on Facebook, the barrage of posts to your Facebook from that person or thing may severely test your definition of "like".

I like the old definitions of "friend" and "like".

PS  Don't like this. Otherwise, expect a barrage of unwanted posts to your Facebook!

Trump

Republicans: Save your party, don’t give to Trump - The Washington Post


What is The Libertarian Party? | Libertarian Party

smart monkeys

Monkeys get more selective with age

WMATA

WMATA and WUSA9 form unique partnership | WUSA9.com

"... a new partnership that is focused on finding solutions to the problems facing Metro, and helping restore the system to its former status as one of America's best public transportation systems." 

sounds good--I'll believe it when I see it. 

(No thanks to the employees, managers and politicians who messed up "one of America's best public transportation systems" in less than 40 years.)

the rest of the story

Most marriages today are invalid, Pope Francis suggests - Crux

the rest of the story: Divorce demography - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

notice how Argentina is missing?

the rest of the rest of the story: VanityBA: Couples Divorce Every 90 Minutes In Buenos Aires

The Latin American Cohabitation Boom, 1970 – 2007

Tears in heaven

Divers Find Body of Toddler Snatched by Alligator at Disney Resort - The New York Times

Eric Clapton - Tears In Heaven (Official Video) - YouTube

Six things Americans should know about mass shootings

Six things Americans should know about mass shootings

When all else fails, look at the facts.

myth

Gary Johnson: Orlando mass shooting is no reason to ‘politicize or jump to conclusions’

Gary Johnson: Orlando mass shooting is no reason to ‘politicize or jump to conclusions’ - The Washington Post

Gary Johnson: Orlando mass shooting is no reason to ‘politicize or jump to conclusions’

Gary Johnson 2016 | Live Free

Love, compassion, coexistence

Area Muslims Denounce Orlando Violence, Pray For Victims « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

“We have to coexist. We have to love each other. We have to become compassionate to each other, so this is what our message is, and this is what we try to demonstrate with our actions also,” said Kausar.

Protect and defend

Orlando Gunman Was Twice Probed By FBI - WSJ

gunman investigated by the FBI in 2012 & 2014. last month he buys guns. "...cases were closed..." why, FBI? not enough manpower to "protect and defend"? not legal? America needs to know. If warranted, Americans can vote in the right representatives to change the laws, and the culture within the FBI. protect and defend.

Villanova University is the first college to sign on for a new program designed to increase awareness of sexual violence on college campuses

Villanova pledges to help fight sexual violence | 6abc.com

http://www.torontosun.com/2016/05/19/americas-choice-a-liar-or-egomaniac

some choice.

railroads

curious about railroads in the neighborhood--single track, etc. 

using Google maps I followed the tracks and zoomed in and recorded the latitude & longitude, mostly at RR/street intersections. 

Enter the latitude and longitude into Google maps and, in addition to a "bird's eye" view of the track, you'll get a 360 degree ground view showing the track in both directions. 

Single track with multiple operators (passenger, freight, long distance, local)--a LOT to keep straight, and safe. 

Thank God for computers. 

PS If I had access to a 48" wide roll plotter, then I could plot this baby out: 
http://www.drpt.virginia.gov/…/final_rail-map-aug2012afor_w…


Virginia isn't lacking in the RR department.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-Line_(Norfolk_Southern)

http://www.frograil.com/tours/ns/BLineTour.php

The NS B line is a freight line. One day last year they ran a passenger train from Manassas to Front Royal, right past where we're living now in Gainesville, for old times sake:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKkymrGUsmE

If they ever do it again, God willing and the creek don't rise, I'll be on it.

President $$$

Brace yourself, America! 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hillary-clinton-gave-inequality-speech-in-an-armani-jacket-2016-06-06

Whoever wins has more $$$, and hubris, than dirt.

http://torontosun.com/2016/05/19/americas-choice-a-liar-or-egomaniac | PEretired | Pinterest

a decent place to live

Well past retirement age and looking for a decent place to live?

• quiet
• low maintenance
• reasonably priced rent
• convenient to stores, medical, church, etc.
• friendly, considerate neighbors
• manageable traffic
• relatively low crime
• a public place to enjoy nature within walking distance
• nonexclusive (as opposed to private communities)

Good luck!

Crimes against God and humanity

Pope issues plan for removing bishops who fail to act on sex abuse – CRUX

"Since these are cases of negligence but not crimes..."

Herein lies the problem.

Negligence involving the abuse of children IS a crime, according to God's laws.

The church and its people answer to a higher Authority than man's law--the church and its people answer to God's law.

The church fails to treat abuse of children as the serious crime against God's law that it is when the church pays damages to victims, but fails to expel negligent bishops who knew of the abuse but covered it up by assigning and reassigning abuser priests to other parishes. By failing to expel the priest abusers and negligent bishops, then God's people perceive the church to be weak in following God's laws.

Hypocrisy is a violation of God's laws.

the Greatest

The Outsized Life of Muhammad Ali - The New Yorker

"...Ali became arguably the most famous person on the planet, known as a supreme athlete, an uncanny blend of power, improvisation, and velocity; a master of rhyming prediction and derision; an exemplar and symbol of racial pride; a fighter, a draft resister, an acolyte, a preacher, a separatist, an integrationist, a comedian, an actor, a dancer, a butterfly, a bee, a figure of immense courage." 

Muhammad Ali reacts after his first round knockout of Sonny Liston during the 1965 World Heavyweight Title fight at St. Dominic’s Arena. Lewiston, Maine 5/25/1965

"...One last thing: at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley tonight, Paul Simon was singing “The Boxer.” Pausing before the final verse, he told the audience, “I’m sorry to tell you this, but Muhammad Ali just passed away.”

RIP, Muhammad

metro: another government failure

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/metro-armageddon-is-coming-a-year-of-shuttered-sections-massive-repairs/2016/05/06/9a7160d0-12e6-11e6-93ae-50921721165d_story.html

less than 40 years old, DC's METRO is unsafe, unreliable and unable to perform routine preventive maintenance and repairs.

what goes around, comes around

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/31/cincinnati-zoo-gorilla-harambe-shooting-mothers-blame

to all of the critics, i.e., the media, protesters, petition signers, internet know-it-alls, politicians (including prosecutors), public (police) investigators, etc.:

Have you ever heard the expression "what goes around comes around"? 

What will you be saying after an accident that involves your child when self-appointed expert/critics are pointing their fingers at you?